Tool



H. HARTL Jan. 22, 1935.

TOOL

Filed April 25, 1934 I Hams H9071.

Patented Jan. 22, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOL Hans Hartl,Milwaukee, Wis. Application April 25, 1934, Serial No. 7122,342

4 Claims. (01. 254-104 5 Of boards which are nailed in place.

This invention 'appertains to a novel device for facilitating theopening of grain doors of railroad cars.

In grain cars, the doorways are closed by means Considerable difficultyis experienced in removing these boards. It is the general practice touse an ax or similar heavy instrument to-break in the lower board. Notonly does this consiune time and the expenditure of a great deal oflabor, but injury to the boards and door jambs is sustained. Thisresults in undue cost, and splinters of wood often become mixed with thegrain, which causes injury to the machinery of the flour mill. Veryoften seriousinjury is caused to the personopening the door by theflying splinters.

It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of my invention to providea tool which can be easily and quickly actuated, and which willeffectively loosen the lower board of the grain door without injury, andthereby permit the expeditious unloading of the. grain.

Anotherrsalient object of my invention is the provision of a pair ofopposed wedge-shaped members with mechanical means for slowly andforcibly urging the members between the ends of the board and the doorjambs, so that the board with its nails will be gradually forcedinwardly and loosened from the doorway without injury to the board ordoor jambs.

A further important object of my invention is the provision of novelmeans for forming the wedge members, so that the same will not bestopped by the securing nails as the wedges are forcibly urged betweenthe door board and the door jamb.

A still further object of my invention is to provide an improved tool ofthe above character, which will be durable and efficient in use, onethat will be simple and easy to manufacture, and one which can be placedupon the market at a reasonable cost.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction, arrangement, and formation of parts, as will behereinafter more specifically described, claimed, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a grain car, showing myimproved tool in its operative position for forcing open the lowermostboard of the grain door.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of my improved tool with parts thereofbroken away and in section to illustrate structural details, the toolbeing shown in its operative position for opening the; grain door, thefragmentof the car shown being in cross section.

Figure 3 is an enlarged, detail sectional view, illustrating the pawland ratchet mechanism for actuating the wedges.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary detail section similar to Figure 2, but on alarger scale, illustrating the action of one of the wedge members as thesame is forced between theboard'and door jamb.

Referring to the drawings indetail, wherein similar referencecharactersdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views,the

letter A generally indicates my improved appliance, and D a grain doorfor a railroad'car C.

The railroad car C is of the type generally utilized for transportinggrain, and only a suilicient part thereof has been shown to illustratethe use of my improved appliance. The railroad car includes the sidewall 5 having the door opening 6, and thegrain door D is adapted to besec-uredin place by nails 7 to the door post, or jam'o, 8;

The grain door D, as in the usual practise, embodies a plurality ofboards, or planks, 9, which, as stated, are secured in place by means ofthe nails '7.

To expedite the removal of the boards 9 without injury thereto and tothe door post, I employ my improved appliance, or tool, A, whichembodies a pair of companion, or like, wedge members 10 and 11. Thesewedge members 10 and 11 extend in opposite directions and are rigidlysecured in any preferred manner to the shanks 12.

These shanks, or arms, 12 can be of a solid or hollow construction andare rigidly secured adjacent to the inner ends to collars 13. Thesecollars 13 carry nuts, or threaded sleeves, 14, and these nuts, orthreaded sleeves, receive respectively the rightand left-hand threadedends of the feed screw 15. Rigidly secured to the central portion of thefeed screw 15 is a ratchet wheel 16.

An operating lever 17 is provided for operating the feed screw, and thislever has its inner end bifurcated to provide a pair of arms 18 whichare rotatably mounted on the feed screw 15 on opposite sides of theratchet wheel 16. Thus, the lever 1'7 is freely movable on the feedscrew.

A spring-pressed reversible pawl 19 is carried by the lever for engagingthe teeth of the ratchet wheel. Hence, by changing the position of thepawl, the ratchet wheel can be turned in the desired direction uponmanipulation of the lever. The extreme outer end of the lever can beprovided with any desired type of hand grip.

Referring more particularly to the wedges 10 and 11, it will be notedthat each of the same are provided with fiat inner faces 20 for fittingsnugly against the door board which is to be loosened, and the outerfaces thereof are inclined outwardly toward the free edge of the wedgesto form a sharp leading end.

It is to be noted that the sharp leading end is provided with aplurality of inwardly directed, relatively long notches 21 which provideteeth 22. The teeth 22 facilitate the insertion of the wedges betweenthe door board and the door post, or jamb, and the notches permit thewedges to ride past the nails, and thus the nails do not stop or hinderthe movement of the wedges between the door boards and the door jambs.By referring to Figure 4, it will be noted that the nails 7 will rideinto the notches as the wedges are being forced into their operativepositions.

In use of my improved device, the wedges'are placed with their sharpenedleading edges between-the door board and the door jambs, as clearlyshown in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawing. The pawl 19 is set in thedesired position and the lever 17 is operated up and down. This willrotate the feed screw and gradually move the threaded sleeves, or nuts,14 outwardly in opposite directions and forcibly urge the wedges betweenthe board and the door posts, or jambs.

This will quickly and effectively loosen the board and permit the escapeof grain in rear thereof. As the pressure of the grain is released fromthe grain door, the other boards can be quickly loosened.

When it is desired to remove my improved appliance, the position of thepawl is reversed so that when the lever is manipulated, the wedges 10and 11 will be brought inwardly toward one another.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided anexceptionally simple and eflicient means for opening the grain doors ofrailroad cars without injury to the door or car.

Obviously, all splinter-ing of the door and door posts is eliminated.Hence, the danger of the person opening the door being injured by flyingsplinters is entirely obviated.

Changes inqdetails may be made Without departing from the spirit or thescope of this invention, but what I claim as new is:

1. The combination with a grain car including door posts and closureboards nailed to said posts, of means for loosening said boardscomprising a. pair of wedge members extending in opposite directions formovement between a closure board and the door posts, forwardlyprojecting teeth on the free ends of the wedges, and means for forciblyurging the wedges in opposite directions.

2. An appliance for loosening the closure boards of grain carscomprising a pair of oppositely directed wedges having flat inner facesand inclined outer faces to provide sharp leading edges, and meansoperatively connecting said wedges together and for moving the wedges inopposite directions.

3. An appliance for loosening the closure boards of grain carscomprising a pair of oppositely directed wedges having fiat inner facesand inclined outer faces to provide sharp leading edges, and meansoperatively connecting said wedges together and for moving the wedges inopposite directions, said leading edges being provided with inwardlydirected nail-receiving notches.

4. An appliance for loosening the closure HANs HARTL.

